The Hair Extension Salon: A Secret Among Celebrities

The Samuels Sisters Hit The X-Men LA Premiere Red Carpet

 

X-MEN: WOLVERINE PREMIERE

We hit the red carpet for the Hollywood premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, at the world fab and famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The weather was perfect and like every celebrity in Hollywood came out to party and catch a glimpse of the newest X-Men flick.  We stole a kiss from darling Jon Voight who is always such a gentleman and hung out with Jaam E Jam Television Host Reza Momeni who we are currently collaborating with on a new entertainment TV show called “Beverly Hills Times” . We chatted up Lynn Collins who plays Silver Fox, saw Mel Gibson, Halle Berry, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Kelcey Grammer.  Everyone was there and we loved the movie and had an amazing time! Muah!  And of course… once again…the party was all about us!

Real Estate Matters: Tips For Buying & Selling

 

Steve Mathis is an author, real estate appraiser, loan officer and sales manager at Hilton & Hyland Real Estate. For more than 30 years he has helped people buy and sell their homes with confidence and success.

If your home hasn’t sold, it’s probably about the price! Economic conditions today have created an ideal climate for current home buyers.  Prices have declined, but market activity has increased!  These historically low home mortgage interest rates combined with a decline in property values have created the “perfect storm” for home seekers; a price-driven market.  

The Importance of Pricing For Sellers

There are ONLY sellers who need to sell and buyers who want a “deal”. A seller can- not under-price a listing, because multiple buyers bid up the price!  But sellers should  engage in negotiation or they risk loosing a potential buyer!  How important is pricing? Very!  Here’s why.  A listing sells because it is better than its competition not because it’s yours!  Sellers can’t afford to be discouraged because of their emotions over their home. When sellers speak of value they mean the amount invested and what they can afford to take.  Their present total investment has no effect on what the buyer is being offered elsewhere.  Serious sellers must attract attention to their property.  Their asking price should be high enough to encourage maximum offers, but not so high as to discourage otherwise qualified buyers!   

Sale Sabotage Condition & Price

Buyers look at price, condition and other properties.  Condition and price are both important criteria, but price determines the sale.  Today, there are fewer buyers for certain price ranges in a market of extra- ordinary choice and unprecedented buying power.  Prospective buyers interested in a particular home is related to how close to current market value that home is priced.   Research suggest that a home priced 10-15% higher than market value, will decrease the number of prospective buyers interested in the property by as much as 30%!   Any home unsold after 90 days in this market is probably  overpriced.  Over-pricing makes a home “stale” on the market.  Buyers and realtors wonder what’s ‘wrong with it’ and most agents won’t go back to a home they’ve already previewed if it hasn’t sold!  Well-priced homes lead to sales in any market.

 Shopping  •  Comparing  • Buying

Realtors and sellers are not “appraisers”, but “buyers” are, and make their evaluations by comparing properties with other properties offering similar locations, features and benefits. Most buyers’ perceptions are shaped by information they obtain from the Internet, news and media reports on the housing market.  The market speaks to us.  We must pay attention!  A seller’s decision regarding price can be influenced by fictitious and hearsay report of what a neighbor received for the sale of their home.  Those sellers realize too late that they are chasing the market with price reductions. Time passes, and their price erodes.  When they finally sell, they realize a substantially lesser amount for their home because of  depreciation.  We have a saying in our business, “If you want your house listed for sale, then over-price it.  If you want it sold, then price it right!”

By Steve Mathis

Congressman Ron Paul: End The War On Drugs

 

We have recently heard of many shocking stories of brutal killings and ruthless violence related to the drug cartels warring with Mexican and U.S. officials. It is approaching the fever pitch of a full-blown crisis. Unfortunately, the administration is not likely to waste this opportunity to further expand government. Hopefully, we can take a deep breath and look at history for the optimal way to deal with this dangerous situation, which is not unprecedented. 

Alcohol prohibition in the 1920’s brought similar violence, gangs, lawlessness, corruption and brutality. The reason for the violence was not that making and selling alcohol was inherently dangerous. The violence came about because of the creation of a brutal black market which also drove profits through the roof. These profits enabled criminals like Al Capone to become incredibly wealthy, and militantly defensive of that wealth.  Al Capone saw the repeal of Prohibition as a great threat, and indeed smuggling operations and gangland violence fell apart after repeal.  Today, picking up a bottle of wine for dinner is a relatively benign transaction, and beer trucks travel openly and peace- fully along their distribution routes. 

Similarly today, the best way to fight violent drug cartels would be to pull the rug out from under all their profits by bringing these transactions out into the sunlight.  People who, unwisely, buy these drugs   would hardly opt for the back alley criminal dealer as a source, if a coffeehouse-

style dispensary was an option. Moreover, a law-abiding dispensary is likely to check ID’s and refuse sale to minors, as bars and ABC stores tend to do very diligently. Think of all the time and resources law enforcement could save if they could instead focus on violent crimes, instead of this impossible nanny-state mandate of saving people from themselves! 

If these reasons don’t convince the drug warriors, I would urge them to go back to the Constitution and consider where there is any authority to prohibit private personal choices like this. All of our freedoms—the freedom of religion and assembly, the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be free from unnecessary government searches and seizures —stem from the precept that you own yourself and are responsible for your own choices. 

Prohibition laws negate self-owner- ship and are an absolute affront to the principles of freedom. I disagree vehemently with the recreational use of drugs, but at the same time, if people are only free to make good decisions, they are not truly free. In any case, states should decide for themselves how to handle these issues and the federal government should respect their choices. 

My great concern is that instead of dealing deliberatively with the actual problems, Congress will be pressed again to act quickly without much thought or debate. I can’t think of a single problem we haven’t made worse that way. The panic generated by the looming crisis in Mexico should not be redirected into curtailing more rights, especially our second amendment rights, as seems to be in the works. Certainly, more gun laws in response to this violence will only serve to disarm lawful citizens. This is something to watch out for and stand up against. We have escalated the drug war enough to see it only escalates the violence and profits associated with drugs. It is time to try freedom instead.

By Congressman Ron Paul

Ralph Nader: CPA’s MIA

 

Where were the giant accounting firms, the CPAs, and the rest of the accounting profession while the Wall Street towers of fraud, deception and cover-ups were fracturing our economy, looting and draining trillions of dollars of other peoples’ money?

This is the licensed profession that is paid to exercise independent judgment with independent standards to give investors, pension funds, mutual funds, and the rest of the financial world accurate descriptions of corporate financial realities.

It is now obvious that the accountants collapsed their own skill, integrity and self-respect faster and earlier than the collapse of Wall Street and the corporate barons. The accountants—both external and internal—could have blown the whistle on what Teddy Roosevelt called the “malefactors of great wealth.”

The Big Four auditors knew what was going on with these complex, abstractly structured finance instruments, these collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other financial products too abstruse to label. They were on high alert after early warning scandals involving Long Term Capital Management, Enron, and others a decade or so ago. 

These corporate casino capitalists used the latest tricks to cook the books with many of the on-balance sheet or off-balance sheet structured investment vehicles that metastasized big time in the first decade of this new century.

These big firms can’t excuse themselves for relying on conflicted rating companies, like Moody’s or Standard & Poor, that gave triple-A ratings to CDO tranches in return for big fees. Imagine the conflict.  After all, “prestigious” outside auditors were supposed to be on the inside incisively examining the books and their footnotes, on which the rating firms excessively relied.

Let’s be specific with names. Carl Olson, chairman of the Fund for Stockowners Rights wrote in the letters column of The New York Times Magazine (January 28, 2009) that “PricewaterhouseCoopers O.K.’d AIG and FreddieMac. Deloitte & Touche certified Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. Ernst & Young vouched for Lehman Brothers and IndyMac Bank. KPMG assured over Countrywide and Wachovia. These ‘Big Four’ C.P.A. firms apparently felt they could act with impunity.”

“Undoubtedly they knew that the state boards of accountancy,” continued Mr. Olson, “which granted them their licenses to audit, would not consider these transgressions seriously. And they were right…Not one of them has taken up any serious investigation of the misbehaving auditors of the recent debacle companies.”

“Misbehaving” is too kind a word. The “Big Four” destroyed their very reason for being by their involvement in these and other boondoggles that have made headlines and dragooned our federal government into bailing them out with disbursements, loans and guarantees totaling trillions of dollars. “Criminally negligent” is a better phrase for what these big accounting firms got rich doing—which is to look the other way.

Holding accounting firms like these accountable is very difficult. It got more difficult in 1995 when Congress passed a bill shielding them from investor lawsuits charging that they “aided and abetted” fraudulent or deceptive schemes by their corporate clients.  Clinton vetoed the legislation, but Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) led the fight to over-ride the veto.  Moreover, the under-funded and understaffed state boards of accountancy are dominated by accountants and are beyond inaction. What can you expect?

As for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “asleep at the switch for years” would be a charitable description of that now embarrassed agency whose mission is to supposedly protect savers and shareholders. This agency even missed the massive Madoff Ponzi scheme.

The question of accounting probity will not go away.  In the past couple of weeks, the non-profit Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)—assigned to be the professional conscience of accountancy—buckled under overt pressure from Congress and the banks. It loosened the mark-to-market requirement to value assets at fair market value or what buyers are willing to pay.  This decision by the FASB is enforceable by the SEC and immediately “cheered Wall Street” and pushed big bank stocks upward. Robert Willens, an accounting analyst, estimated this change could boost earnings at some banks by up to twenty percent. Voilà, just like that. Magic!

Overpricing depressed assets may make bank bosses happy, but not investors or a former SEC Chairman, Arthur Levitt, who was “very disappointed” and called the FASB decision “a step toward the kind of opaqueness that created the economic problems that we’re enduring today.”

To show the deterioration in standards, banks tried to get the FASB and the SEC in the 1980s to water down fair-value accounting during the savings and loan failures. Then-SEC Chairman Richard Breeden refused outright. Not today.

Former SEC chief accountant, Lynn Turner, presently a reformer of his own profession, supports mark-to-market or fair value accounting as part of bringing all assets and liabilities, including credit derivatives, back on the balance sheets of the financial firms. He wants regulation of the credit rating agencies, mortgage originators and the perverse incentives that lead to making bad loans. He even wants the SEC to review these new financial products before they come to market, eliminating “hidden financing.”

Now comes the life insurance industry, buying small banks to qualify for their own large federal bailouts for making bad, risky speculations.  The brilliant Joseph M. Belth, writing in his astute newsletter, the Insurance Forum (May 2009), noted that life insurers are lobbying state insurance departments to weaken statutory accounting rules so as to “increase assets and/or decrease liabilities.” Some states have already caved. Again, voilà, suddenly there is an increase in capital. Magic. Here we go again.

Who among the brainy, head up accountants, in practice or in academia, will join with Lynn Turner and rescue this demeaned, chronically rubber-stamping “profession,” especially the “Big Four,” from its pathetic pretension for which tens of millions of people are paying dearly?

 

By Ralph Nader

CSI MIAMI STAR: SOFIA MILOS

Sure making it in Hollywood is about being in the right place at the right time.  But then again, it is also about studying and perfecting your craft, marketing your image and doing an amazing job once you land the role of a life- time.  There is little  doubt that Sofia Milos is riding high on pro- fessional success…the hit CSI Miami and the much anticipated show The Border, which revolves around homeland national security and will air on the USA channel later this year.  But life for Milos is about more than a script and a role…it’s about making each moment count. 

 

Milos was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland.  Later in years, she moved to Rome where she studied business and economics.  The passion she carries to both her on and off screen life can be credited to her Greek mother and Italian father heritage.  Combining the best of both old world cultures she developed a serious crush on the thrill of fine watches and the taste of good chocolate.  She is fluent in four languages: French, Italian and German and can stir up a decent conversation in Spanish and Greek and says she learned English from her first American boyfriend.  When she landed in L.A. she set out to conquer English and began working with some of the best dialect coaches in the business.  These days she speaks perfect English with- out an accent for acting purposes only.  The charm of her native language is something she never wants to lose or forget.  Talking about her zest for life and learning she says that she has the persistence and tenacity of a warrior, with the sensitivity and sensibility of a child when it comes to appreciating all that is spiritual and beautiful. 

“One of the things I enjoy besides bringing a film or television character to life that moves the audience is cooking and painting.  Mostly I paint women and faces,” she states.  “I love representing and painting women because women are smart and beautiful.  Like a fascinating, resilient, never dying flower women never cease to amaze me as we have endless amounts of courage and potential, intelligence and strength not only for ourselves, but for all the men around us who seek our unpretentious strength through them.  Women are men’s greatest validation.  I admire my mother, my grandmother and beautiful girlfriends because of it.  Every time I represent a woman in a film or role, I get to explore and communicate her world, culture and heart through my passion, my eyes, and I hope my breath between the words spoken.  I used to freelance in fashion design for women’s clothing, which I did in my late teens while modeling for 10 years across the world for every top magazine you can name and every designer you can think of.  Hence, my flair for clothes, though I would live in my birthday suit all day long if I could.”

Milos is a breath of fresh air.  Our interview was down to earth and to the point…reflective of her independent, strong and yet vulnerable and spiritual personality.  It is easy to see why this beautiful, talented and evolving young woman is making such a splash in Hollywood.  Her desire to make her life the best and the world better—gives all of us inspiration to do the same.

Her first acting role on TV was in 1992 on the new WKRP In Cincinnati, as a nun.   Soon she was seen across the screen on shows such as Friends, Mad About You, Caroline In The City, Curb Your  Enthusiasm and The Sopranos  among others. Then came CSI Miami.  Milos nabbed the role of Columbian detective Yelina Salas in 2003—an appearance that could have easily been a one shot deal.  But true to her nature the ‘woman warrior’ emerged and by 2006 she had turned an initial guest role into a regular character that not only boosted the already skyrocketing ratings, but created a character that the audience wouldn’t let go.

ST: Starring on one of the top rated shows on prime time television is such a coo. How did the CSI gig come about?

SM: During season one the show was looking for a new female to be matched up with David Caruso—a possible love interest.  They created a new role with- in a three-episode arc.  I went in and read like many others did and got the part that day.  Television is about ratings and how well you communicate with the audience…especially a show with the outreach of CSI—seen in 180 countries.  It comes down to the actors and people in their living rooms watching us.  It’s scary and wonderful.  It’s a blessing to be part of such an incredible show.  Of course, when I went on board the show was already doing amazing with an audience of about 16-17 million viewers.  Then I did my three episodes and the ratings did exceptionally well.  The audience enjoyed the chemistry between my character and David’s.  I have to thank the viewers for making me an integral part of the show because after those three episodes they asked me to stay on. 

ST: We’ve seen actors on successful shows start believing their own press, leave to pursue superstar status and then  fade away.  Why give up something so amazing for uncertainty?

SM: As an actor you take a job not knowing what you are going to be in for.  You hope for the best.  You hope you will do a great job and bring some- thing important to a show and, that the show will bring something important to you.  Some actors don’t calculate a ride of four, five, six, ten—years.  It’s harsh to judge anyone because it’s very hard work.  You have to really want a certain lifestyle.  For me I am very appreciative.  I love being called back season after season.  That’s what is so amazing in television…what power an audience has and how much involvement they play in a show.  The audience literally kept my character alive.  We have an incredible  season finale on May 18th which I’m a part of and it’s exciting.  I’m honored that they keep asking me to return.  

ST: Although your days are busy taping shows, you make time for charity work.  

SM: Being on the show affords me a platform to use my celebrity and voice to help others.  It gives me power and ability to gather a group of people to fundraise for things I really care about.  I just came from New York and did the American Italian Cancer Foundation.  Other foundations I give my all to are Citizens Commission of Human Rights (which is against psychiatric drugging of children).  All this hype about ADD and ADHD.  Of course I understand the problem, but I encourage people to get informed about drugs they give their children so they are in a place to be able to make a more educated choice.  There are side effects to these drugs that are not publicized.  This drugging of children is in my opinion a self-pocketing business.  Is drugging our children the solution?  I don’t think so.  I think finding a solution to the problem is the solution.  I support CRIMINON, a rehabilitation program for prison inmates.  It finds ways  to raise their self-esteem so they choose not to commit crimes.  The belief is that if we invest more time, effort and money on rehabilitation we have a better chance of helping people stay out of prison.  While inmates are in prison we encourage them to do an extension course which changes their lives.  They become better human beings working to the good of their families and their communities. 

ST: Tell us about your life away from Hollywood.  

SM: My mother lives in Rome.  I lost my father three years ago unfortunately.  My mother is my life and my love and we talk every day on the phone.  I have an older brother who is married and at age 23 had his first child.  We really chose different paths in  life.  Now he has a teenager.  It’s really funny between us.  He sometimes envies me and my jet-setting and I envy him and that he has a beautiful family.  Sometimes I work 16, 20 hours a day.  It’s difficult, but the incredible thing is that I get to do what I love to do.  I get to bring words and characters to life.  The rewards are so great.  I am living out my passion.

By Suzanne Takowsky

Photo by Pierre Andre Transunto

Dr. Payman Simoni: Aging Gets A Lift!

 

 • Sagging muscles and skin on the mid-face, jawline and neck.

 • Deep wrinkles and folds on the forehead and sides of the mouth.

 • Excess, puffy skin on upper and lower eyelids; deep, criss-cross wrinkles around the eyes.

 • A sagging browline that gives an ‘angry appearance’.

 • Thin or invisible upper lipline, with the corners of the mouth drooping downward.

Sound familiar?  It’s called “AGING” Nobody likes it.  But, it’s inevitable. Or…maybe not!  Dr. Payman Simoni, a Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, in Beverly Hills has introduced a ground- breaking and cutting-edge procedure “The Simoni LiftTM” that patients are declaring the latest anti-aging breakthrough to the Fountain of Youth!

“A decision to have plastic surgery is an important one.  It is vital that patients receive sound, professional advice tailored not only to their individual needs, but to their individual look,” states Simoni.  “My goal is to enrich a patient’s life with a more youthful and revitalized appearance.”

Simoni received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; completed general surgery and Facial Plastic Head and Neck surgery training at University of Alabama, Birmingham Hospital.  With two Board Certifications in Facial Plastic Surgery by the American Board of Facial Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery and American Board of Head/ Neck Surgery and Otolaryngology, Simoni is one of the most experienced and innovative Plastic Surgeon’s today.  

‘The Simoni LiftTM’—a groundbreaking procedure designed to restore the midface to a youthful appearance, Simoni combines the best of several facial procedures into one, offering his patients a low-invasive technique, performed in his office, without general anesthesia, that brings remarkable results in little more than an hour, with very little swelling, bruising and little down time.

“Our appearance affects the way we feel about ourselves, especially as we age,” Simoni says.  “Eye area and a drooping forehead are first to show signs of aging.  Advances in browlift technique specifically ‘endoscopic browlift, small incisions in the hairline are virtually undetectable and common for 35-45 age group who don’t require a full facelift.”

According to Simoni, the mid-face and neck are next when it comes to muscle and skin sagging that then, extends down the jowl area and onto the neck.

The ‘Simoni Lift (TM)’ is a one-hour, minor procedure offering long lasting, natural looking results by improving laxity of jowls, cheeks, loose ‘turkey’ neck and facial skin without a need for general anesthesia,” states Simoni.

When it comes to going under the knife a big negative is the ‘down time’ associated with bruising and swelling.  The ‘Simoni LiftTM’ offers patient’s minimally invasive surgery, achieving maximum face and neck rejuvenation without general anesthesia and with the promise of a natural looking appearance, instead of that dreadfully, but common unnatural ‘pulled look’ that is often seen with traditional facelift surgery.  Incisions are tiny and hidden—and the results last from 10 to 15 years.

“Aging alters the body, but nowhere as visible as on the face.  Aging coarsens skin texture, diminishes its youthful layer of fatty tissue, and the angularity of the face is lost.  As skin descends it pouches into overhanging jowls generating signs of tiredness, sadness and an angry look,” says Simoni.  “The ‘Simoni LiftTM’ counters sagging, offering a more youthful appearance.  Everyone wants to look their best.  People look to plastic surgery for rejuvenation.  They also look for a procedure that does not change their face…who they are…this does not change you; it simply makes you look the way that you did years ago.”

Information, Questions, Consultation:
Payman Simoni, MD
Beverly Hills 
888-DrS-90210  (888-377-9021)
www.drsimoni.com

By Suzanne Takowsky

NAACP Honors Generous LA Billionaire Donald T. Sterling

 

The NAACP through its members and supporters is dedicated to the political, educational, social and economic equality of the rights for all people.  It is their mission to bring an end to racial hatred and discrimination.  Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the oldest and most recognized grass- roots-based civil rights organization in the world.  It has grown from a handful of dedicated people with a vision to make life better for all African Americans into 500,000 members and supporters throughout the United States and the world.  The NAACP is a premier advocate for civil rights and social and economic change in our world today.

This year the NAACP celebrates its 100th anniversary.  This is slated to be the biggest fundraiser yet for its out- reach programs that include: Civic Development, Health, Education, Prison Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice, Legal Address Committee, Job Training, In-School classes, College Scholarship Grants for 12 high schools for under- privileged students as well as  Youth Foundation Grants given to 20 hand-picked charities.  New programs recently implemented are protecting underprivileged, especially women from predatory lending and those who are struggling with losing their homes or with heavy credit card debt.

To celebrate this monumental occasion, the organization chose to bestow its most coveted Lifetime Achievement Award to philanthropist, attorney and real estate developer Donald T. Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.  For years Sterling has supported numerous charities, and community organizations as well as national programs that offer help to the underprivileged. Sterling’s long time  dedication and involvement have gone a long way in making Los Angeles a better place for all to live and enjoy.  His loyalty to L.A. can be seen in his organization, the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation which donates millions of dollars to charity and is building a real estate development in Downtown Los Angeles for homeless housing, rehabilitation and medical services.

ST: This is such a prestigious award; the NAACP’s 100th year anniversary.

DTS: The NAACP’s programs make a difference helping the underprivileged. Its new president, Leon Jenkins, an attorney is dedicated and committed to working with the NAACP.  I’m happy  and proud to support such an amazing organization.

ST: You know about everyone on earth…what a fabulous night with your family and friends.

DTS: You have no idea.  Everyone I know is very supportive of the work that the NAACP is doing.  I am grateful for this award and looking forward to helping them with their projects.  What is important here and what we have to keep in mind is the incredible ongoing work that the NAACP is accomplishing.  They are in need of financial resources and community support from everyone in order to reach their goals.

In addition to Sterling’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the gala will also present its noted 2009 Humanitarian of the Year Awards to Jona Goldrich, Stanley Black, Arthur Kassel and Stanley Diller.  Gene D. Block will be awarded the Foundations President’s Award; Carl Ballton receives the Corporate Responsibility Award; AJ Duffy the Education Award; Jacquie Stephens the Community Service Award and Minnie Hadley-Hempstead the Volunteer of the Year Award.

“This year is very special to us.  No other organization can claim the glory or the history of the NAACP,” states Leon Jenkins,  the president of the NAACP.  “What we have already accomplished is having been able to open the doors of opportunity to everyone who needs help.  We  happily honor Donald Sterling with our Lifetime Achievement Award.  Over the years, he has shown consistent support in helping those less fortunate find a better way of life.  Mr. Sterling is the only owner of any professional team in this city where any night of the week that his team the Clippers is playing on home court you can look up into the stands and be able to see one sometimes two thousand at risk and under- privileged kids cheering and enjoying the basketball game.  All of these kids have been invited by Mr. Sterling and for each of them this is something that otherwise they would never be able to experience.”

This year’s 100th Anniversary Gala was held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, in Downtown Los Angeles. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Marvin Brown.  For further information on how you can support and become involved helping the NAACP with its ongoing programs

Visit: NAACPLosAngeles.org

By Suzanne Takowsky

Essential Medical Clinic: Because Health Does Come First

The Greystone Mansion: History, Beauty and Mystery in Beverly Hills

 

In 1892, a man down on his luck and at the brink of financial ruin noticed a passing wagon hauling oil tar in West Los Angeles.  He began to dig for oil with a pick and shovel.  In time, he was able to afford a drill and lease a patch of land, and soon discovered the first well to produce black gold near downtown Los Angeles.  His exploits later took him to Mexico where, in 1904, he hit pay dirt with the discovery of his first gusher Cerro Azul, an unparalleled historical find producing a quarter of a million barrels of oil a day. It was the beginning of a dynasty fraught with intrigue, tragedy, and mystery.  His name was E. L. (Edward Laurence) Doheny Sr., and his era was unregulated, unrestrained, and uncompromising.

The 55 room 46,000 square foot mansion he built on 22 acres was completed in 1929 at a cost of $4,000,000, a staggering sum for that day.  It was a gift for his son, E. L. Doheny Jr., the partner of his labors known as ‘Ned’ on the southern part of his 429 acre ranch situated north of Sunset Boulevard, today known as Beverly Hills.  Designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, it was built in the English Tudor style to intentionally convey old money when in reality the family fortune was ostensibly new.  Construction entailed the removal of more than 250,000 cubic yards of dirt.  The grey stone façade, after which the mansion was named, was mere decor.  Beneath it lay three-foot-thick, steel-framed concrete walls, erected with the single objective of making the mansion last for centuries. 

 

The interior featured elaborate hand-wrought iron grillwork on the plate-glass entrance doors, marble staircases, oak archways, a fountain in the reception room, a terrace with sweeping views of the impeccably kept grounds and city below, a two-story high ceiling with baronial carved beams, a stately stone fireplace, projection room and private theater in the basement, bowling alley, billiards room, and concealed bar which could swiveled into view at the flick of a switch–it was during Prohibition, after all.  The 22 acres surrounding the mansion included a seven-room Tudor-style gatehouse, 15,666-square-foot stable, sixteen acres of formal gardens and wooded areas, reflecting pools, swimming pools, greenhouses, tennis and badminton courts, waterfalls, two concrete-bottom lakes, and a fully equipped machine shop. 

Maintaining the property required two butlers, two cooks, half a dozen maids and serving staff, four chauffeurs, two governesses, a body-guard for the children, fifteen gardeners, four mechanics, and the requisite secretary for Mrs. Doheny. 

 

It all unhinged on the still chilly night of February 16, 1929.  One popular story was that Ned’s long-time personal secretary, Hugh Plunkett, described also as his closest confidant, rummaged through a closet in the garage and located a house key which gained him access to the mansion.  He went upstairs to the master bedroom where he found Ned and his wife Lucy already dressed for bed.  Ned took the agitated Plunkett to a first-floor guest room where their camaraderie eventually turned to loud arguing, prompting Ned to call the family physician, Dr. Ernest Clyde Fishbaugh, who had treated Plunkett a year prior for a nervous breakdown.

 

Upon the doctor’s arrival, Plunkett opened the door and seeing him at the entry, slammed it shut.  Then, two shots were fired from inside.  The doctor rushed in and found Plunkett face down in a pool of blood and Ned bloody and dying near an overturned armchair. No conclusions were ever drawn as to the pervading motives or the execution sequence in this apparent murder-suicide. 

 

The property passed ownership up until June 1969, when the American Film Institute leased it for its Center for Advanced Film Studies.  Since 2001, the city of Beverly Hills has completed extensive restorations, but has yet to silence a paranormal presence which often is heard anguishing over a tarnished past.

By Jeffrey Hyland

 

Jeffrey Hyland, is President of Hilton & Hyland.  His book is available through www.thelegendaryestatesofbeverlyhills.com

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